PARVATI, the Mother of the three worlds, Her mind engrossed with thoughts for the purification of men polluted with the impurities of the Kali Age, humbly asked Mahesha, the Deva among Devas, who had thus spoken of the essence of all the Nigamas, which is the seed of heaven and final liberation (as follows) (1):

Shri Devi said:

How should the form of Mahakali be thought of, She who is the Great Cause, the Primordial Energy, the Great Effulgence, more subtle than the subtlest elements? (2).

It is only that which is the work of Prakriti which has form. How should She have form? She is above the most high. It behoves thee, O Deva! to completely remove this doubt of mine (3).

Shri Sadashiva said:

Beloved! I have already said that to meet the needsof the worshippers the image of the Devi is formed according to Her qualities and actions (4).

As white, yellow, and other colours all disappear in black, in the same way, O Shailaja! all beings enter Kali (5).

Therefore it is that by those who have attained the knowledge of the means of final liberation, the attributeless, formless, and beneficent Kalashakti is endowed with the colour of blackness (6).

As the eternal and inexhaustible One image of Kala and soul of beneficence is nectar itself, therefore the sign of the Moon is placed on her forehead (7). As She surveys the entire universe, which is the product of time, with Her three eyes, the Moon, the Sun, and Fire, therefore she is endowed with three eyes (8).

As She devours all existence, as She chews all things existing with her fierce teeth, therefore a mass of blood is imagined to be the apparel of the Queen of the Devas (at the final dissolution) (9).

As time after time She protects all beings from danger, and as She directs them in the paths of duty, her hands are lifted up to dispel fear and grant blessings (10).

As She encompasses the universe, which is the product of Rajoguna, she is spoken of, O Gentle One! as the Devi who is seated on the red lotus, gazing at Kala drunk with intoxicating wine and playing with the universe. The Devi also, whose substance is intelligence, witnesseth all things (11-12).

It is for the benefit of such worshippers as are of weak intelligence that the different shapes are formed according to the attributes (of the Divinity) (13).

Shri Devi said:

What merit does the worshipper gain who makes an image of the Great Devi of mud, stone, wood, or metal, in accordance with the representation described by Thee for the salvation of humanity, and who decks the same with clothes and jewels, and who, in a beautifully decorated house, consecrates it? (14-15).

O Lord! out of Thy kindness for me, reveal this also, with all the particular rules according to which the image of the Devi should be consecrated (16).

Thou hast already spoken of the consecration of Tanks, Wells, Houses, Gardens, and the images of Devas, but Thou didst not speak in detail (17).

I wish to hear the injunctions relating to them from thy lotus-mouth. Out of thy kindness, speak, O Para-meshana! if it pleases Thee (18).

Shri Sadashiva said:

O Parameshvari! this supreme essence about which Thou hast asked is very mysterious. Do thou, therefore, listen attentively (19).

There are two classes of men, those who act with, and without, a view to the fruits of action. The latter attain final liberation. I am now speaking of the former (20).

Beloved! the man who consecrates the image of a Deva goes to the region of such Deva, and enjoys that which is there attainable (21).

He who consecrates an image of mud stays in such region for ten thousand kalpas. He who consecrates an image of wood stays there ten times that period. In the case of the consecration of a stone image the length of stay is ten times the latter period, and in the case of the consecration of a metal image it is ten times the last-mentioned period (22).

Listen to the merit which is acquired by the man who, in the name of any Deva, or for the attainment of any desire, builds and consecrates and gives away a temple made of timber and thatch and other materials, or renovates such a temple, decorated with flags and images of the carriers of the Deva (23).

He who gives away a thatched temple shall live in the region of the Devas for one thousand koti years (24).

He who gives away a brick-built temple shall live a hundred times that period, and he who gives away a stone-built temple, ten thousand times the last-mentioned period (25).

Adya! the man who builds a bridge or causeway shall not see the region of Yama, but will happily reach the abode of the Suras, and will there have enjoyment in their company (26).

He who dedicates trees and gardens goes to the region of the Devas, and lives in celestial houses surrounded by Kalpa trees in the enjoyment of all desired and agreeable enjoyments (27).

Those who give away ponds and the like for the comfort of all beings are washed of all sins, and, having attained the blissful region of Brahma, reside there a hundred years for each drop of water which they contain (28).

Devi! the man who dedicates the image of a Vahana for the pleasure of any Deva shall live continually in the region of such Deva, protected by Him (29).

Ten times the merit which is acquired on earth by the gift of a Vahana made of mud is acquired by the gift of one made of wood, and ten times the latter is acquired by the gift of one made of stone. Should one made of brass or bell-metal or copper, or any other metal, be given, then the merit is multiplied in each case tenfold (30-31).

The excellent worshipper should present a great lion to the temple of Devi, a bull to the temple of Shangkara, and a Garuda to the temple of Keshava (32).

The geat lion has sharp teeth, a ferocious mouth, and mane on his neck and shoulder. The claws of his four feet are as hard as the thunderbolt (33).

The bull is armed with horns, is white of body, and has four black hoofs, a large hump, black hair at the end of his tail, and a black shoulder (34).

The Garuda is winged, has thighs like a bird, and a face like a man's, with a long nose. He is seated on his haunches, with folded palms (35).

By the present of flags and flag-staffs the Devas remain pleased for a hundred years. The flag-staff should be thirty-two cubits long (36), and should be strong, without defects, straight, and pleasant to look at. It should be wrapped round with a red cloth, with a chakra at its top (37)

The flag should be attached to the top of the staff, and should be marked with the image of the carrier of the particular Devata. It should be broad at the part nearest the staff and narrow at the other end. It should be made of fine cloth. In short, whatever ornaments the top of the flag-staff is a flag (38).

Whatever a man presents with faith and devotion in the name of a Deva, be it clothes, jewels, beds, carriages, vessels for drinking and eating, pan plates, spittoon, precious stones, pearl, coral, gems, or anything else with which he is pleased, such a man will reach the region of such Deva and receive in turn a Koti times the presents he made (39-40).

Those who worship with the object of attaining a particular reward gain such reward which (however) is as destructible as a kingdom acquired in a dream. Those, however, who rightly act without hope of reward attain nirvana, and are released from rebirth (41).

In ceremonies relating to the dedication of a reservoir of water, a house, a garden, a bridge, a causeway, a Devati, or a tree, the Vastu Spirit should be carefully worshipped (42).

The man who performs any of these ceremonies without worshipping the Vastu-Daitya is troubled by the Vastu-Daitya and his followers (43).

The twelve followers of the Vastu Daitya are Kapi-lasya, Pingakesha, Bhishana, Raktalochana, Kotara-raksha, Lambakarna, Dirghajanggha, Mahodara, Ashvatunda, Kakakantha, Vajravahu, and Vratantaka, and these followers of Vastu should be propitiated with great care (44-45).

Now, listen! I am speaking of the Mandala where the Vastu-Purusha should be worshipped (36).

On an altar or on a level space, which has been well washed with pure water, a straight line should be drawn, one cubit in length, from the Vayu to the Ishana corner.

In the same manner another line should be drawn from the Ishana to the Agni corner, and another from the Agni to the Nairita corner, and then from the Nairita to the Vayu corner (47-48).

By these straight lines a square mandala should be drawn (49). Then two lines should be drawn from corner to corner (diagonally) to divide the mandala into four parts, like four fish-tails (50).

The wise man should then draw two lines, one from the West to the East, and the other from the North to the South, through the point where the diagonal lines cut one another, so as to pass through the tip of the fish-tails (51).

Then four diagonal lines should be drawn connecting the corners of the four inner squares so formed by the lines at each of the corners (52).

According to these rules, sixteen rooms should be drawn with five different colours, and an excellent yantra thus made (53).

In the four middle rooms draw a beautiful lotus with four petals, the pericarp of yellow and red colour, and the filaments of red (54).

The petals may be white or yellow, and the interstices may be coloured with any colour chosen (55).

Beginning with the corner of Shambhu, the twelve rooms should be filled up with the four colours, viz., white, black, yellow, and red (56).

In filling up the rooms one should go towards one's right, and in the worship of the Devas therein one should go to the left (57).

The Vastu Spirit should be worshipped in the lotus, and the twelve daityas, Kapilasya and others, should be worshipped in the twelve rooms, beginning with the Ishana corner (58).